August 16, 2010 Monday Message:

In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus heals a crippled woman on the Sabbath, by casting out demons. As you’d expect, this act of mercy drew hefty criticism from the Temple leaders, who thought healing was “work,” and no work could be allowed on the Sabbath.

Jesus argued that, just as you’d loose an animal to let it get water on the Sabbath, so should you also loose the woman from her demonic infestation on the Sabbath. Of course Jesus is right. Let’s look at the lessons in this brief exchange:

1. Sometimes physical challenges are caused by supernatural manifestations; other times they are not. Jesus can heal a person, regardless of the cause of their infirmity.

2. As you read the Bible, remember that your Zion is wherever you worship God, and your Temple is where you meet Him. Therefore your Sabbath is the day you step back from your circumstances to focus on substance: worship of the God who loves you, study of His character and principles, honoring family and friends, etc. I don’t know if God is concerned with the day of the week – my family frequently worships on Saturday. What matters more is that we intentionally set aside time for the Lord.

3. Common sense must prevail. If an animal needs water on the Sabbath, we need to take care of it. If someone needs healing on the Sabbath, we need to take care of that too. If your neighbor needs a hand and you have the opportunity to serve, you should probably take care of that too. Your Sabbath might not always be smooth.

4. There’s no question that we should right a wrong on the Sabbath. It would be wrong to not water your animal; it would be wrong to not heal the woman if you could. Jesus says you can heal the sick and raise the dead. You can’t do it alone – call down the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus doesn’t just say that the woman “should” be healed – He says she “MUST” be healed. Take care of it.

5. Once again God’s intolerance of false religion shows itself. The Temple leaders wanted to enforce the “letter” of the law, but had sadly neglected the “spirit” of the law. Jesus found false religion in the synagogue that day, just as we find false religion in some churches nowadays.

There’s no new ground here; we’ve heard these lessons before: Worship the Lord, serve your neighbor, love your family, follow God’s laws. Let’s all try to get this right. Don’t make Jesus have to come down here again to teach us. The next time I see Jesus on Earth, he should be on a white horse!

Norton Lawellin